


Danse Macabre

by indevan



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ballet, F/F, Horror, Minor Character Death, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26169859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indevan/pseuds/indevan
Summary: After being accepted to the prestigious Seiros Academy, Dorothea's roommate begins giving her cryptic messages about how the school and those who run it are not as they seem
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is the start of my Edelthea giallo/suspiria-inspired au! i plan to update it fairly regularly, and i hope people enjoy :D

Dorothea walked as fast as she could without breaking into a run. She didn’t want to show up sweaty and out of breath. First impressions, she had long since learned, were everything. Her train had been late, though, and she still had three more blocks until she got to the school. School. It seemed so strange. She was going back to school--maybe. It depended on if she passed her interview and audition.

Manuela had assured her over the phone that she would do fine, that she had recommended her herself. Dorothea was a bit more skeptical. Seiros was predominantly a dance academy and, while Dorothea could pick up choreography easily, she was a singer, not a dancer. Still, Manuela wanted her to give it a shot. Showing up for this audition was the very absolute least that she could do for her mentor. Manuela had even allowed Dorothea to stay in the bedsit downtown as she, an instructor at this school, had moved into the dorms on campus.

The sky above was growing darker with each passing minute. All of time was against her. Dorothea stepped off the curb before the signal changed. Cars squealed to a stop and honked at her, but she paid them no mind. She had heard worse than road rage squalls from taxi drivers. She kept her gaze forward and her stride sure, trying to look like the very image of a cosmopolitan woman with places to be. Even with the overstuffed messenger bag banging against her hip.

Finally, the school was upon her. It was different from the surrounding buildings. It made her think of the churches along the avenues, still maintaining their architecture and atmosphere even as they were surrounded by dentist offices and stores that sold fur stoles. The school was far larger, though, and taller. It had to be at least five stories. Dorothea sucked in a breath through her nose and pulled open the wood and iron door. Just as she did, the sky let loose a loud clap of thunder. Rain began to fall just as she stepped over the threshold. She gave it a slight glance before closing the door. The lobby of the school spilled out before her, done in green-veined white marble. Rain pounded on the windows and Dorothea breathed a sigh of relief.

“Good timing. You were lucky.”

Dorothea turned to see someone she presumed was a teacher walk by. The woman stared at her with wide, seemingly vacant eyes. She chanced a smile and hoped it was charming.

“It looks like I am.”

The teacher stared at her for a moment longer and Dorothea wondered if she ought to say something.

“I have an interview? Do you know where I go?”

Two rapidfire blinks of those enormous, disarming eyes.

“Madame Rhea’s office is down the hall to your right and then on the left.”

“Thanks.” She gave another smile and walked the direction she was provided.

Somehow, she still felt those eyes on her even as the teacher faded from sight.

In almost no time, she found herself standing outside of a door that bore the name  _ Madame Rhea _ in gold script. She was still early, but Dorothea figured it was fine and early was good, right? Every audition she had been on, early was on time and on time was late. She knew the game.

She knocked once on the door, politely. After a moment, she heard a voice.

“Come in.”

Dorothea turned the knob and opened the door. A woman with pale green hair was seated at a desk, her hands folded neatly on its surface. Next to her stood Manuela. Dorothea tried to make her exhale of relief not obvious. Her mentor being there made her feel a bit more at ease.

Manuela had always taken a shine to her, when Dorothea had first come to the opera house. She had insisted Dorothea apply for Seiros Academy after she had become employed here over a year ago. It would give her connections she said, ones that she couldn’t simply find in the world of opera.

“You must be Dorothea,” the woman at the desk said. She had to be Rhea.

“Yes. Hello.”

Rhea turned a hand out towards a chair placed in front of her desk.

“Why don’t you sit?”

Dorothea took the seat offered and sat up straight, her palms on the tops of her knees and her gaze forward. Rhea gave a slight smile.

The interview questions were very straight forward. Her time at the opera house, how Manuela recommended her, her goals. Every time she answered, Dorothea felt Rhea’s green gaze bore into her. She had to be trying to intimidate her. Well, she would find out that Dorothea Arnault was not one who crumpled. She was steel, not paper. Not even aluminum foil.

“You do seem to be a good fit for our academy,” Rhea said finally, with a slight smile. “You said you were eighteen, correct?”

Dorothea nodded.

“Yes, Madame.”

She had no idea if that was how she was supposed to address Rhea, but it sounded right. Rhea stood from the desk and smoothed her hands down the white shift dress she wore.

“Come with me,” she said. “I would like for you to dance in front of our other students.”

Dorthea had been expecting that, really. This was a dance academy. She had worried about forgoing typical interview attire for the leggings and leotard she wore under her bulky sweatshirt, but that was also why she had had a smarter, more business forward outfit in the messenger bag.

“Follow me, dear.”

Rhea exited the office and Manuela followed her out the door, but not before she turned and gave Dorothea a wink and a thumbs up. As she trailed after them, Dorothea stuck her hand into the messenger bag to fish around for a scrunchie. She tied her hair back while she walked, trying to tame the thick, curly tresses as best as she could.

“Here we are.”

Rhea pushed a door open to reveal a large practice room. A huge mirror stretched across one wall and there was a barre along the one opposite of it. A group of girls in various practice outfits were huddled in one corner, talking amongst themselves. Dorothea tried not to frown, but she was expecting a far larger group or to be put on a stage. These were  _ really _ all of the other students?

“We are a very elite school and accept very few dancers,” Rhea explained as if reading her mind.

_ Ah. _

Dorothea switched her sneakers for a pair of slippers from her bag and then placed it down near the door and walked to the barre to warm up. Whatever butterflies were flapping in her stomach weren’t going to make themselves evident on her face or in her body. She was going to show these fancy ballet school girls who she was.

“Dance however you see fit,” Rhea said. “I want to see your capabilities.”

Her voice sounded soothing, almost mesmerizing. Feeling warm and loose-limbed, Dorothea began to dance.

The clump of students began to sit in front of the mirror to watch her. Dorothea continued the dance, trying not to pay attention to them. She summoned everything she had learned in dance classes as well as videos she had watched since finding out about her interview with the academy. Her body was rhythm, it was music itself. She was an extension of the music.

“That is enough,” Rhea said after some time had passed--she wasn’t sure how much.

Dorothea stopped. She righted herself and looked over the other girls. Many of them were clapping.

Rhea glided over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Manuela was right to suggest you. Welcome to Seiros Academy, Miss Arnault.”

She smiled.

“Thank you so much.”

Dorothea turned back to the girls. A few stood and were walking over.

“Ohmigosh, that was  _ so _ good,” a short redhead said, her eyes wide.

“You dance beautifully,” another girl said, her fingers twisting at her long, purple-maroon hair.

Several stayed near the mirrors. Most notably was a short girl with thick, black hair. She stood with her arms crossed, a scowl on her features.

_ What’s  _ her _ problem? _

She was aware of eyes on her and was reminded of that strange teacher. When she turned, Dorothea saw that it was another student. A short girl with pale, pale hair and disconcertingly purple eyes. She wasn’t glaring like the other girl, but her gaze was intense. Despite her resolve, Dorothea shuddered.

\--

It wasn’t a great change, moving from her bedsit to the dorms. Dorothea had never had much growing up. She had lived with her mother in a tiny bungalow on the other fringes of the city until her mother died. Then she had been on her own, doing what she could to get by, until the opera discovered her.

Manuela helped her move her belongings into the room she would be sharing with another girl. Dorothea had never had a roommate. Most girls her age would be getting ready to go to college, but she hadn’t even completed high school. She was excited about a roommate. Edelgard von Hresvelg (and how was  _ that _ pronounced, she wondered). She hoped that she would be a friend.

So far, all of the students she had encountered had been nice and polite. Two girls, the short redhead who had spoken to her at her audition, and a taller girl with sandy hair and kind eyes, had even offered to help carry some boxes. They had introduced themselves as Annette and Mercedes. Across the hall was a bubbly girl named Hilda and her roommate, a far more withdrawn seeming girl named Marianne. The only outliers had been the girl with the scowl and the one who had stared.

“Don’t mind Lysithea,” Annette chirped when she brought it up. “She just is in competition with  _ everyone. _ Which is sooo weird, ‘cause she’s, like, this dancing prodigy.”

Lysithea, apparently having been summoned, stuck her head out of an open doorway, dark hair swinging around as she did, surrounding her like a cape.

“I’m not a prodigy,” she snapped indignantly. “I’m a hard worker. The  _ hardest _ worker. And I don’t forget my tights.”

That comment seemed to be targeted to Mercedes, who gave a little giggle and shook her head.

“It was only the one time,” she explained to Dorothea.

When they reached Dorothea’s room, her roommate was present. Dorothea swallowed. Great. Edelgard was the staring girl.

“Hello.”

Dorothea was a bit surprised at the warmth of her greeting. Mercedes and Annette took their leave, but not before getting Dorothea to promise to meet them for lunch later. She watched them both go, before turning back to Edelgard.

“Hey,” she said back. “Looks like we’re roommates.”

Edelgard gave a slight smile. “It appears that way, yes.”

She seemed a fair bit different from the way she had appeared during Dorothea’s audition.

“Well, uh. I should start unpacking.”

“Let me help you.”

Another surprise. Maybe she had Edelgard pegged all wrong.

“Sure, that’d be great, thanks!”

Edelgard crossed to Dorothea’s bed, where her sheets and comforter were folded, waiting to dress up the naked mattress. She took the fitted sheet and tried to shake it out, but her wingspan wasn’t nearly wide enough. Edelgard was a short thing, probably a good five inches shorter than Dorothea herself was. She walked over to help her. It was almost cute, though, watching her struggle. She seemed so put together and cool as a cucumber otherwise.

Working together, they managed to stretch the sheet over the corners of the mattress.

“Dorothea,” Edelgard said once they were done. “Be careful here.”

Dorothea thought of Lysithea’s glare and declaration of being the hardest worker. She was no stranger to competition between performers.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’ve dealt with performers before.”

She shook her head.

“Not that. Just...watch your back,” she said. In a lower voice, she added. “Don’t trust Rhea.”

_ What? _

Edelgard gave a curt nod of her head and reached for the regular sheet. Apparently, this discussion was over. But what did that mean?


	2. Chapter 2

Settling into the school wasn’t as hard as Dorothea thought it would be. She didn’t mind waking up super early for rehearsals and she didn’t mind eleven pm curfews. Most days passed in a semi-pleasant blur of dancing, the smell of sweat, and the slight soreness in her back and feet.

The days, anyway. The nights were different.

Dorothea had never been a particularly heavy sleeper. The life she led between her mother’s death and being discovered by the opera and subsequently Manuela had seen her have to develop being a light sleeper as a matter of necessity. It was never really bothersome until she became aware of her roommate sneaking out of bed at night.

She knew that Edelgard waited until she assumed Dorothea was fast asleep to slip from her bed and out the door. She didn’t think she was breaking curfew to go for a wild night out in the city. Edelgard was far too serious to be wanting to party and, anyway, whenever she went out, she was still barefoot and in pajamas.

She was admittedly intrigued. A lot about Edelgard intrigued her, though. It wasn’t just her looks--although that sweet, heart-shaped face of hers along with the mulish, stubborn tilt of her chin  _ were _ quite endearing. She was easily one of the most talented dancers at the school. Edelgard was among the few who was actually able to go  _ en pointe _ along with Petra, Marianne, and Lysithea. Her movements were at once precise and fluid. There was also that cryptic warning she had given Dorothea when she had moved in. About not trusting Rhea. She wasn’t quite sure what to do with that information. Rhea wasn’t often present during rehearsal, although sometimes Dorothea would feel as though she was being watched and she would look up only to see the headmistress staring down through a pane of glass that looked down on the practice room from the second floor.

Finally, Dorothea decided that her curiosity was getting to be too much. She was going to wait until Edelgard left and follow her.

“I’m so tired, aren’t you, Edie?”

Dorothea kept her voice sweet from where she sat on her bed, carefully working a brush through her thick hair. Edelgard regarded her for a moment and then nodded.

“Yes.”

She stretched her legs out in front of her and flexed her feet. They were bandaged and bruised--a true ballet dancer’s feet. Dorothea regarded her own in contrast, the dark red polish she had applied three nights ago still fresh and not chipped.

Finally, she set her brush on the night table and crawled under her comforter.

“Good night, Edie,” she chirped. “Do you need me to leave the light on?”

Dorothea always asked this, even though the answer was always the same.

“No, it’s fine.” Edelgard gave a slight smile. “Thank you, Dorothea.”

She nodded and leaned over to flick off her lamp. Dorothea closed her eyes and waited. After a few minutes, she heard the click of Edelgard turning off her own light. She curled her hands under her chin and made her breathing down deep and rhythmic. It was almost enough to make her start yawning, but Dorothea held back.

Finally, after what felt like hours--and maybe it was--she heard the sound of Edelgard pushing her blanket back. Dorothea waited until several minutes after she heard the quiet, muted click of their dormitory door closing before she threw back her own blanket. She tugged on her thick, slipper socks from where she had left them on the floor before carefully and quietly exiting the room.

It was dark in the hallway, but the stark paleness of Edelgard’s long hair as she turned the corner at the end of the hall was enough for Dorothea to see where she was going. She crept as quietly as she could in her socks as she followed at a distance. She wasn’t sure what she thought she would find, but this little espionage trip following Edelgard was, admittedly, the most fun Dorothea had had since she arrived at this school.

She had to be careful in following her, though, because she knew her strides were much longer than Edelgard simply based on their heights. She followed her out of the student’s housing wing, past the library, and into the main lobby.

_ Where are you going, Edie? _

She walked across quietly, but determinedly. Dorothea was glad that her slipper socks had no-slip grips as she carefully trod after her on the polished marble.

Edelgard walked into the teacher’s offices. She stopped in front of Rhea’s office and Dorothea watched her reach into the pocket of her sweatpants and produce a key. She put her hand over her mouth to stop a gasp from coming out and giving away her location. Her position as a scholarship student, even  _ with _ Manuela’s recommendation, was far too precarious to be caught breaking into teachers’ offices. Her little trip following Edelgard had to come to an end.

She turned to go back to their room and, as she did, she caught Edelgard slip inside the door.

\--

Dorothea prided herself on being forthright and honest. Sometimes it was to a worrying degree that upset people who worked with her at the opera. Once a boy had asked her if she didn’t like him because she acted as though she hated him and she had confirmed his suspicions outright by saying yes, she did in fact hate him.

She knew, though, that she couldn’t bring up exactly what she saw Edelgard doing last night. It wasn’t just that she was following her, but if any of the instructors knew that she was  _ breaking into their offices, _ she could get in serious trouble.

Before she could even think about asking her, she was waylaid by Hilda. As usual, Marianne walked a step behind her, her shoulders drooped and her head lowered. It was a bit astounding that she was one of the very few  _ pointe _ dancers when she acted like she was a great burden to everyone.

“Heyyy” she said. “Do you want to get lunch with us when we break?”

Hilda flicked some of her pink hair from her equally pink eyes. She was an interesting one. She complained the entire time they danced from warmups through the breaks, but whenever she danced, she was actually quite good.

“Oh! Sure.”

“Cool, cool.” Hilda’s eyes flashed. “You’ve  _ got _ to tell me where you got that bracelet you were wearing at dinner the other night, by the way.”

Dorothea couldn’t remember the bracelet in question, but she promised that she would. Edelgard was at the barre, warming up along with Lysithea. Everyone else was waiting for Byleth--the teacher who had the strange, wide, vacant eyes Dorothea had seen upon her arrival. Despite her flat, almost hollow way of speaking, she was actually a warm and dedicated teacher.

She gave a smile and another promise to meet Hilda at lunch and made her way towards Edelgard.

“Hey, Edie,” she said.

“Hey.”

Edelgard let go of the barre and gave her that small, slight smile of hers that Dorothea was beginning to believe was her trademark.

“Did you get lost on the way to the bathroom last night?” Dorothea asked with what she reckoned was a natural-sounding laugh.

A small crinkle appeared between Edelgard’s arched brows--brows far darker than the rest of her pale hair--and she frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“You left our room and then didn’t come back for, like, an hour,” she said blithely. Dorothea tossed some hair for emphasis to show Edelgard that she was making conversation and it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t like she had a copy of a key to break into Rhea’s office or anything.

Edelgard put her hand on the crook of Dorothea’s elbow and looked up at her intently.

“I can’t talk to you about it now,” she said. “Not with her watching.”

For a moment she thought she was talking about Lysithea, who was determinedly and deliberately stretching while tossing glares in Annette’s general direction. But she wasn’t remotely paying attention to them.

“Who?”

Edelgard gestured with her chin, angling it slightly upwards. Dorothea flicked her eyes without moving her head to follow where she was discreetly pointing.

Rhea stared down at them from the observation deck, her pale green gaze intense. Without meaning to, Dorothea shuddered.

\--

“You know I snuck out last night.”

Edelgard wasn’t going to wait, apparently. Dorothea had only just come back from the bathroom down the hall, still carrying her little bag of toiletries, when she had confronted her.

“I know you sneak out almost every night,” she replied.

There was no reason to play coy anymore, anyway.

“Why were you breaking into Rhea’s office?”

Edelgard frowned. She turned from Dorothea and walked to sit down on her bed.

“Then you did follow me.”

Dorothea placed her toiletries back where they were kept on the little cubby in the wall that served as shelves.

“Only last night,” she said. With a sheepish smile, she added, “I got curious.”

Edelgard nodded a bit.

“Ah. Well.” For the first time since Dorothea met her, she seemed nervous. Her fingers kept rising to a ring she wore on a chain around her neck. With her thumb and forefinger, she ran it over and over the chain, back and forth. “Can you keep a secret?”

Dorothea walked over to her bed and sat next to her. Again, her curiosity was piqued. She nodded and crossed her heart.

“Absolutely, Edie.”

Edelgard smiled a bit at the gesture.

“Right...so...this will sound. Completely irrational but...I believe this school is a cover.”

“For what?”

She leaned in, gaze serious.

“A coven of witches.”

“What?” Dorothea wasn’t sure that she heard her right.

“A coven of witches,” Edelgard repeated. “I don’t know what their goals are but. I believe they need a host for it.”

Dorothea waited for her to tell her that she was kidding, even if--in the short time she had been acquainted with her--Edelgard wasn’t really a jokester.

“The school,” she said, speaking slowly and enunciating her words. “is secretly run by a coven of witches.”

That line appeared between her brows again.

“Yes, Dorothea. I believe it is.”

Unsure how else to react, she laughed.

“Edie, I think you’ve watched a few too many horror movies.”

Edelgard sighed and shook her head.

“I figured that you wouldn’t believe me.”

It was obvious, though, that Edelgard truly believed what she was saying. Dorothea bit her lip. Weird as she was acting, she still liked her roommate and didn’t want her to run afoul of Rhea or anyone else as she tried to find her imaginary “proof.”

“Just don’t go out after curfew so much,” she said. “Be careful.”

Edelgard regarded her for a moment in silence before giving a slight incline of her head.

“You, too.”

\--

There was something off with Marianne. Dorothea had noticed it the day before, which had been another occasion when Hilda had dragged her into having lunch with them so she could talk to Dorothea about her jewelry. Apparently, rather than dance, Hilda’s true passions were in jewelry making. Marianne had sat with them, more quiet than usual. She had stared down at her sandwich, not even making a move to touch it.

At rehearsal the next day, she didn’t look any better. Dorothea watched her slowly drag herself through warmups. There were deep purple dents under her eyes and her shoulders were even more slumped than usual.

“Alright, girls, line up.”

Cornelia, one of the senior instructors, strode into the room, clapping her hands. Dorothea wasn’t terribly fond of her. Something about her seemed coated in plastic. She much preferred when Byleth taught them.

“Madame?” Hilda asked. She lifted her hand slightly as though she were in class. “Marianne isn’t feeling well.”

Cornelia stopped and spun around, her eyes zeroing in on Marianne.

“I’m fine,” she bleated, her quiet voice sounding even more strained.

Dorothea peeked forward and saw Edelgard looking at Marianne in concern.

“Please don’t worry yourself, Hilda,” Marianne continued weakly. “Or anyone.”

She straightened as much as she could, but she truly was looking ill. Her skin was a sickly pallor and even her lips appeared colorless. Her pale blue hair was falling out of the haphazard braid she had plaited it in that morning.

“Thank you, Marianne,” Cornelia said. “Hilda, I appreciate your concern, but focus on yourself.”

Hilda pouted, but lowered her head in an assenting nod.

“Now, girls, as I said. Line up.”

Dorothea took her place next to Marianne near the end of the line. She noticed that the other girl was a bit unsteady on her feet. She hoped she wasn’t truly sick. Marianne took private lessons for  _ pointe, _ she knew, so maybe she was just tired and overworked.

“Let us--”

Cornelia was cut off by a small  _ oof _ sound. Marianne’s knees buckled. Dorothea shot her hand out to catch her by one arm. Luckily Mercedes was on her other side and was able to snag her other elbow to keep her from falling directly onto the floor.

“I’m sorry,” Marianne said. Her head bobbed on her neck and she looked about to keel over. “I think I am just a bit tired.”

“I should take you to the infirmary,” Mercedes said.

Cornelia seemed a bit annoyed.

“I don’t believe that’s necessary.”

“I believe it is,” Edelgard said firmly. She stepped out of line and stared Cornelia down.

Cornelia met her gaze for a moment before exhaling through her lips.

“Fine. Mercedes, go ahead and take Marianne to the infirmary and then  _ hurry back. _ We’re already running behind.”

Dorothea watched Mercedes guide Marianne from the room and bit her lip. Despite Marianne’s near collapse very obviously being caused by exhaustion or an incoming illness, her mind couldn’t help but go back to what Edelgard had told her the other day. About covens and witches and hosts. She spared a glance to her roommate, and knew she had to have the same thought.


End file.
